On 28 February 2017, the National Assembly passed the Elections (Amendment) Act 2017 “to encourage the widespread participation of the ordinary citizenry in the new democratization dispensation.” The President assented to the Act on 8 March, 2017.

The amendment was a response to the major shrinking of the political space during Jammeh’s era. In July 2015, the Elections (Amendment) Act, 2015 was passed and signed by Jammeh on 20 July 2015. Candidates for President were required to pay D 500,000 (approximately USD 12,500) raised from D 10,000 (approximately USD 250); the fee for candidates for the National Assembly was increased from D 5,000 (approximately USD 125) to D 50,000 (approximately USD 1,000) and candidates for local council office were to pay D 10,000 (about USD 200). Opposition political parties not only regarded the increases as unreasonably high but also as a ploy by the government to drastically limit the participation of the opposition in elections.

Following the 2017 amendment the exorbitant fees back to their initial amounts: President D10,000; National Assembly D5,000; Mayor D 2,500; and Local Council D1,250.

Difference between 2015 and 2017 Election Act amendments

The chart shows the deposit requirement differences for candidates: President, National Assembly, Mayor and local council of the 2015 and 2017 Election Amendments Acts respectively.